The year’s most expensive homes on the market are not necessarily massive; some are spacious New York penthouses without enough square footage to even qualify as a mansion. See them all, starting from $60 million on up.

"I think housing is going to continue to improve," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "So for the next 3 or 4 years we will see better home sales, more housing construction and higher house prices. All of which is good news for the economic recovery."

Moody's Mark Zandi predicts that economic growth will stay in the 2% to 2.5% range over the next year, roughly the same level as three years ago when the economy was starting to recover from the 2008 recession.

Sales of existing homes beat expectations in November, with Realtors reporting a surprisingly modest effect in the Northeast from Superstorm Sandy. An even bigger surprise was a huge gain in activity among higher-end homes.

Stephen Davies, CEO, Javelin Wealth Management discusses his top sector picks for 2013. He says the fundamentals of the U.S. property market are improving and foresees double digit returns on the sector.